Why Teach How Things Work? Tracking the Evolution of Children’s Intuitions About Complexity

Emmanuel Trouche, Department of Psychology, Yale University

Aaron Chuey, Department of Psychology, Yale University

Kristi Lockhart, Department of Psychology, Yale University

Frank Keil, Department of Psychology, Yale University

Abstract

Children and adults are notoriously poor at remembering
mechanistic information. As a result, teaching mechanism has come under
increasing scrutiny in science education. However, while a rich memory for
mechanistic details may be out of the average student’s grasp, we argue
exposure to mechanism does not leave students empty-handed. Instead, it refines
their intuitions about science and the world in significant ways. In this study,
we focused on one particular kind of intuition: causal complexity. Children ages
6-11 rated the complexity of two entities and were then given either mechanistic
or non-mechanistic information about them. We tracked the evolution of their
intuitions about complexity immediately after and three weeks later. Children in
the mechanistic condition demonstrated a greater shift compared to the
non-mechanistic condition. This contradicts the notion that mechanism provides
learners with few benefits, while also demonstrating how mechanism can be a
powerful force in shaping children’s intuitions.